Water and Windows

During the holidays last month, I went with friends to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylania. (Note: Some pics from there will be posted soon).  Before heading home, we stopped at the nearby Newlin Grist Mill. Walked around the grounds and grabbed a few shots that involved two popular photo themes -- water and windows. Enjoy.

Finally picked up the camera again

As most of you who know me are already aware, the 2012 summer and fall period had family drama that culminated in a very sad October. Well, I finally used my birthday yesterday to take a little time with the camera. I joined a friend and we went to the Glen Echo Park located near Bethesda, Maryland.

For those who don’t know the history of the site, beginning in the early 1900s, Glen Echo Park was a premier amusement park, serving the Washington area until 1968. Since then the facility has been managed by the National Park Service and now features resident artists, a historic carousel, dance programs, festivals and special events.

There are things happening year-round at GEP but on this particular late-November afternoon, things were on the quiet side. The shadows were growing long with the steadily setting sun. But if you stood still, you could almost hear the sounds of warm summer days and nights filled with laughter and music.

Sunday, August 5th
10:30 a.m. EDT

It is in our nature to explore. From sailing ships that crossed the oceans to the Apollo missions to the lunar surface, we have set challenging goals for ourselves and then met them. Another such challenge will happen in 15 hours when a 2,000 pound rover lands on the surface of Mars.

New Stuff Soon - I Promise

It was pointed out to me this morning that a significant amount of time has passed since my last photo blog posting. The comment was a polite but much needed nudge. There are many reasons that could be given for my image drought but reasons are just excuses with data to back them up. There are people who say "No matter how tired I am, I feel better after I exercise."  I need to adopt a similar approach to my photo hunting because I always feel better after time spent with my camera. Therefore, in the coming days and weeks, no matter how overwhelmed I feel at work or what unexpected challenges come along, I will grab the backpack and head out and search for something, someplace or someone to catch my eye.

So I promise new stuff will be coming soon. In the meantime, a sunrise pic from late last year.  Enjoy.

Building Blocks of the Imagination

Parents give Legos to their kids for many reasons. Probably there is a small secret hope that it will keep the little ones entertained and bring some quiet to the home (for at least a few minutes). But the main reason I'm sure is that parents remember how playing with Legos fired up their own imaginations - you can build ANYTHING you want! Seeing the Lego models of famous buildings and structures reminds us that what starts off at an early age as just a dream, can eventually soar and become an inspiring reality!

The exhibit is at the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. through Sept. 2012.

Giving Thanks For Sunrises

Since this is the week we give thanks, I thought my photo efforts should be devoted to one of the two favorite times of day that every photographer loves - the light that happens when the sun makes its first appearance of the day.  So on three consecutive days, I picked three different spots in Annapolis to capture as the sun as it came up.

The first couple of shots were taken in downtown Annapolis around the dockside area. The next couple were shot while standing on Compromise Bridge that runs between downtown Annapolis and Eastport. The last portion of shots were taken near the Maritime Museum in Eastport.

Why get up early (especially on days off) you may ask?  My father answered that question on a sunrise photo he gave me a long time ago. On the mat he wrote "Everyday begins with hope and wonder."

Enjoy.

Final Colors of Fall 2011

The pretty colors of fall are fading fast so I decided to go for a stroll around the yard and over at Quiet Waters Park to capture the final fireworks-like bursts of colors happening.  Will want to come back and look at these pics when there are words like "snow" and "ice" in the weather forecast.